The total includes newly registered capital, capital expansion and stake acquisitions by foreign investors, according to the National Statistics Office on December 6.

Vietnam licensed 3,695 new foreign-invested projects in the first 11 months with a combined value of US$15.96 billion, up 21.7% in number but down 8.2% in value from a year earlier. Manufacturing accounted for the largest share of new investments at US$9.17 billion, or 57.5%, followed by real estate with US$3.14 billion, or 19.7%.

Singapore was the top investor among 88 economies with newly licensed projects, pouring US$4.29 billion into Vietnam, or 26.9% of the total. It was followed by China (US$3.40 billion), Hong Kong – China (US$1.66 billion), Japan (US$1.56 billion) and Sweden (US$1 billion).

Capital expansion reached US$11.62 billion from 1,318 existing projects, up 17% year on year. Combined new and expanded capital brought manufacturing investment to US$16.52 billion, or 59.9%, and real estate to US$$5.72 billion, or 20.7%.

Foreign stake acquisitions totaled US$6.11 billion, jumping 50.7% year on year. Of that, US$2.37 billion involved increases in charter capital, while US$3.74 billion came from share purchases without raising local registered capital.

Manufacturing attracted US$2 billion in capital contributions (32.7%), followed by professional and scientific services at US$1.13 billion (18.5%).

Actual foreign investment disbursement hit an estimated US$23.6 billion in the period, up 8.9% and the highest in five years. Manufacturing led with US$19.56 billion, while real estate drew US$1.67 billion and energy-related sectors US$754.9 million.

At the same time, Vietnamese businesses invested US$1.1 billion abroad, up 83.9% from a year earlier. New overseas projects received US$742.8 million, while capital expansion rose to US$358.2 million. The energy sector accounted for 31.1%, followed by manufacturing (25.2%) and wholesale and retail (11.8%).

Laos was the largest recipient of Vietnamese investment with US$590.3 million, or 53.6%, followed by the Philippines (US$92 million), Germany (US$78.1 million), Indonesia (US$69.6 million) and the United States ($33.9 million).

Rising FDI inflows drive surge in M&A deals

Strong reforms to improve the investment environment have helped foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam rise sharply over the past 10 months, creating strong momentum for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the remaining months of this year.